Dot hack Azure
by Naomi Wiflath
Summary: [Sp Warning, Post Vol 2] A one shot and Prologue to .HackDawn. Read at your own risk. [They really need better catigories for .hack]


_**.hack//Azure**_

Prologue to .hack//DAWN

By: Naomi Wiflath

Theme: Lost Resolution - .hack//G.U OST

It shouldn't have ended this way… no.

It isn't the end, not yet…

That day will haunt me. Forever.

We had come such a long way; _he_… had come such a long way…

We were so damn close!

…

Why…

Why did it have to be you, Haseo?

-Flash-

"Haseo…"

"Hmm?"

"Are you sure your ok? You don't seem… well."

"Its none of your business. Lets go, before we lose our chance."

"…"

We were investigating Delta: Hidden Forbidden Waterfall. Using a virus core, we were teleported to another part of the field. It was a dungeon, hidden somewhere amongst the falls. I couldn't help but feel such a sense of 'Wrongness'.

I never knew a player could bleed, 

_Not in the way he did..._

The dungeon was dark, carpeted in wild grasses. The walls and ceiling were smooth, stone warn away by water. The air hummed. Something wasn't right here.

Three players warped into the area in a blue flash of light. A steam gunner, with long blue hair and dressed in gold. A Tribal fighter dawned in pink looked around cautiously behind a pair of small glasses. The leading figure, an adept rogue dressed in black armor, with a tail like piece that attached at the nape of his neck. Gaze of red crested by silver, which framed his face. His appearance could be described as being 'hellish'.

"Remember to keep on your guard. And don't do anything stupid." Stated the pink character, looking specifically at the rogue. He snorted.

"That goes for you too." He retorted.

"Hey, hey now. This really isn't the time to start arguing. Your always picking fights Pi." Said the steam gunner, stepping between them and holding up his hands.

"What did you just say Kuhn?" The pink character, asked.

"Why nothing, nothing at all." Replied the gunner, shrugging.

"That's what I thought." Pi snapped. Kuhn laughed weakly, but stopped then he noticed their third party member was absent.

"Haseo? He was just here a second-" he asked, before catching glimpse of the rogue at the entrance of another room. He was bent over, supporting himself with the wall. Kuhn and Pi ran to him, confused.

"What happened?" Asked Pi, in a more demanding tone then she had intended. Haseo was breathing hard, eyes wide and unseeing.

"Haseo! Snap out of it." Said Kuhn, putting a hand on the boys shoulder and shaking it. The Rogue stiffened, and looked at them both as if he hadn't seen them before.

"I…" He shuddered, before standing up straight. He swallowed hard; before taking in a deep breath.

"What is wrong, Haseo?" Pi asked, again unable to hit the tone of concern she was going for. The boy gave her a hard look, despite how pale his complexion had become.

"Nothing. There's nothing wrong." Haseo snapped, before turning to go deeper into the area.

"Haseo! Just a minute there!" Kuhn called, catching up and stopping the Rogue with a hand on his shoulder. "If something is bothering you, lets just leave and try again later. We need everyone at 100, and its obvious that your not." Haseo jerked his shoulder away.

"I said I'm fine! Now stop wasting time so we can go save the lost ones!" He snapped bitterly before the rogue continued onward, not even bothering to look back to Kuhn, who just watched with a very concerned expression on his face.

"Kuhn…" Started Pi, standing next to him.

"I don't like this. I don't like this at all…" He said, crossing his arms.

"Do you really think you could force him to leave?" Pi asked. "He's not one of the brightest bulbs, and you should know that by now."

"I'm serious Pi. I think we shouldn't go through with this right now." Said Kuhn, giving her a dark look.

"For once, you've actually made a final decision about something." She replied, before brushing past him after Haseo. Kuhn sighed, before following after her. Maybe things would turn out all right.

Haseo kept a quick and solid pace, not daring to look back. He was so close. So close he could almost grasp it. He didn't know what it was- but it seemed… Important. Important to his cause…

Up ahead, he saw something. A little word bubble appeared with an exclamation mark, only to fade away again. It was a lucky animal, hiding in the tall grass. The rogue continued onward, not bothering with the little creature. He didn't even give it a sidelong glance, until it spoke.

"You looking for Lost ones? Yip, Yip!" It asked in a high pitched sound. Haseo stopped in his tracks, and turned to it. It was some sort of lizard; covered in iridescent shards.

"What did you just say?" The rogue asked, approaching it closer.

"Lost ones! Yip, Yip! You can't find them. You can't find them! Yip, Yip!" The rogue pulled out his scythe and held it near the creature's neck.

"Who the hell are you?!" He demanded. "What do you mean?!"

"Join them, join them! Gone, gone you will! Yip, Yip!" It chirped again. Haseo raised his scythe to swing, but was stopped by Kuhn.

"Wait! Why don't you see what else it has to say." Said Kuhn. Pi seconding the act with her own comment.

"Don't destroy something that could be useful Haseo." She said, putting a hand on her hip. The rogue growled, before letting the scythe rest, blade within the grass.

"What are you trying to say?" Haseo asked it, gritting his teeth.

"Cant tell, cant tell! Journey you must, you and her will! Yip, Yip!" It piped. The rogue rose his weapon again in frustration, but again was stopped.

"Wait!" said Pi. "What do you mean by 'her'?" The little dragon folded its little wings beneath itself, and gave Pi a challenging look.

"Broken, she is. Now he go bye, bye until she comes. But he be with she, Yip." It replied, giving her a dark glare.

A chime sounded- reverberating off of the cavern walls; the lucky animal's image began to flicker. Immediately Haseo kicked the beast, causing it to disappear. The chiming and flickering immediately left with it.

"That seemed more like an unlucky animal to me." Kuhn said lightly. Pie was not pleased, but commented.

"As crude as that was- It may have been necessary. Clearly that creature was bugged." She said, arms crossed. Haseo stood for a moment in silence, before putting his scythe away. His previous bitterness was for a moment abated as something dawned upon him. Would he be fated to join Shino as a lost one? Proving that… he couldn't even save himself? He cried in frustration, punching at one of the stone walls.

"Haseo…" Kuhn started, but didn't quite know what else to say. The youth seemed completely devastated over the recent loss of Alkaid- and whatever happened between him and Ovan was a mystery. Although Pi and Master Yata seemed to know- neither divulged the answer to him. Murmuring something about grudges, Kuhn followed behind Haseo and Pi, whom continued on.

It seemed to be a long, endless stone cavern- coated in underground moss and grasses. There was a fern here and there- the stone was smooth and dark. There didn't seem to be anything else suspicious in the underground dungeon that he could see-

"Master Yata has just confirmed a strong AIDA signal up ahead, don't let your guard down." Stated Pi.

"So much for a quiet dungeon stroll." Joked Kuhn lightly. Pi gave him a warning look, and Haseo made no indication that he heard. The adept was making his way towards the end of the long hall, which seemed to open up into a large room.

"I bet it's there, up ahe- Ooft!" Kuhn had run smack into something- causing him to stumble. "What the- Pi? Haseo!" The steam gunner called at Haseo's back, who's image disappeared behind a heavy stone door.

"Haseo!" He called again- with no luck.

"Give it a rest Kuhn." Said Pi, who was recovering her poise from the strange barrier. The tribal grappler held out a hand, which stopped in mid air. A barrier shimmered for just a moment- before becoming invisible again.

"But? Haseo! He could be in serious danger-!"

"Haseo can handle himself for now- but we should not hesitate to try and reach him. I've messaged Master Yata, and he's working on a solution to the barrier as we speak." Replied Pi coolly. Kuhn punched at the barrier, which deflected his fist easily.

"So we are just suppose to sit around and wait on Yata, right?" he said bitterly.

"…" Pi turned towards the closed stone door- which had a large circular seal chiseled into it. She sighed, putting her hands on her hips. "There is nothing more we can do at this point." She tried to sympathize with the gunner- but her uptight manner made it almost impossible. Kuhn, however, seemed to get the idea, and waited. The seal in the stone consisted of a trinity of spirals- created by an unbroken line.

* * *

Haseo whirled around in time to see the thick stone door fall closed, stirring a cloud of dirt. 

"Pi! Kuhn!" He cried, pounding at the stone. But all he could hear was his own voice answering back at him. The rogue turned, taking a good look at the area.

He was in a gigantic, semicircular stone room. All the walls were made of old, gigantic stones carved into bricks. The single flat wall stretched before him, bearing a trinity of spirals within a crest. Haseo approached it cautiously, glancing all around the room, which was lit by some unknown source. The ceiling was so high, it wasn't visible- just a black void. The crest was tarnished, and covered partially by moss. The adept reached for it- metallic claws only glancing off the edge before he was interrupted by a strange sound.

It was the chime of the tuning fork again, the same as by the lucky animal. Haseo turned around to find something formingin the shadows. The cavern graphics began to flicker, as it approached- a mass of pulsateing specks of void.

"Ngh..! AIDA!" Haseo held up his hands, and began to summon skeith when a voice spoke-

Haseo was unable to move- he knew that voice all too well. It shook him down to his very core, he could hardly breathe. As if there was some sort of weight sitting upon his chest.

"O…Ovan…?!"

* * *

"A _Triskeles_." Said Pi, in reply to the unspoken question. Apparently she had done a spot of research in their silence. There was no sound from behind the door- leaving Pi and Kuhn to wait for orders from Master Yata. 

"It's a symbol from Celtic mythology; representing the sun, afterlife, rebirth and reincar-..!?"

"AIDA?!" Kuhn exclaimed, as ebon dots of void bubbled at the door's seams. The both of them backed away from the pulsating AIDA, which began to consume the entire door.

"Ive had enough of this. Pi, act as my support!" Exclaimed Kuhn, before summoning his avatar. Pi did not disagree, for she too felt that it was time to act.

In the warped field of data- Kuhn faced a gate guardian. An AIDA in the form of a serpent was wrapped around the stone. Convinced that the defeat of this beast would open the door- Kuhn attacked headlong.

* * *

The mass of AIDA stayed within the shadows, but appeared to try to create a human figure. Haseo didn't notice the pools forming beneath his feet- a costly mistake. Dark claws reached out and latched onto his wrists and ankles, slamming him into the stone wall. The adept struggled as they intertwined with each other, forming into chains. From the edges of the spiral seal, more hands of darkness reached out, grasping at his throat. He struggled, barely able to breathe as the room began to blur. 

_Whats going on? Wha…? _He didn't know where he was. At his computer? No- What? What was going on?

"_Forgive me, Haseo…"_ The voice spoke again, causing Haseo to stay still. The dark figure appeared from the shadows, dressed in white. A stark contrast to the pulsating aura of AIDA that surrounded him. Despite the situation, Haseo felt a twang of betrayal.

"O…Ov-an." He gasped, clenching his chained fists. The figure gave him an apologetic look.

"_It is but, a part of the process…" _And it was with that- he struck. With a triple flash of crimson, Haseo was engulfed in agony. He screamed- Screamed at the empty walls. His cried echoed everywhere.

There was no beginning.

There was no end.

The figure stood. The boy's cries had long since abated, but the remnants still reverberated around him. He whispered to the boy, from across the room.

"_Haseo… Get stronger. Consume all your happiness and sadness, and use that as your stepping stone."_ And with that, he was gone.

* * *

Kuhn landed the final blow- a data drain blast directly at the serpent. It contorted and writhed, before finally dissipating. By the time Kuhn had returned to the normal field, Pi was at the door. 

"The barrier seems to have dissipated. We must move quickly."

Kuhn had no issue with this, and the large stone door rose and opened. They were met with a large, dark room. The stone slab of a door did not close behind them- but they would not notice.

For both stood in mortified awe at the site before them. Haseo- was chained to the wall. A Tri-edge symbol cut across his chest. He did not move. He did not speak. Scarlet wings spread outwards from his body- dripped down and bloomed upon a gathering puddle on a floor. No longer did he dawn his reapers attire, but the appearance of a level one. The Adept's head hung facing the ground- ivory hair stained.

Kuhn managed to move his leaden feet. His hands were shaking so bad he could hardly move his character across the room.

"Haseo…. Haseo…" he whimpered, stopping before his friends body. An idea startled him- and he tried a revival potion. Then a health drink. Then any healing item he owned. But the Rogue did nothing. His body did not disappear as a dead player's should.

Pi did not move, and had no idea what to say. She didn't even know what really happened- what really 'Was' happening. It took her a moment to realize she had a short mail from Yata. Numbly, she answered it. A request for the two of them to return to the Serpent of Lore immediately.

"Kuhn." She said, her voice feeling hoarse. "We must return to the serpent of lore immediate-."

"NO!"

Kuhn's outburst startled her; he roared and began punching at the circular wall.

"NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! This was NOT suppose to happen! GRAAH!" He paused, letting his fist fall away from the stone.

"We were…" His voice cracked. "We were too late..."


End file.
